Journal Writing

Journal writing has developed over the past year.
Using a PowerPoint photo album which we update regularly. The students choose a picture they would like to write about.
When we initially started this activity they were free to navigate anywhere within their communication book to create their journal entry. As they have become more proficient they are being encouraged to use their sentence starters more often.
Sentence starters are short common phrases that begin sentences. They increase the speed with which sentences can be generated and decrease the number of navigations required to produce a sentence. They also introduce different tenses so the students can talk about past, present or future events
Examples of sentence starters include:
I like, I am, I want, I am going, I went.
The video below shows a student writing about a photo of herself in fancy dress!

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Location:NYC

Differentiation, it's all the same

As I watched a preparation for standing program today which included students from two classes I realized two things.

1. It's remarkable how such a diverse group of students can all work successfully within the same CE environment

2. Our Communican program has truly employed the same differentiation processes as our CE program

Now this shouldn't really come as a shock to me! After all as director of the program my primary goal, when integrating Communican into our environment, was to ensure we continued to employ the CE philosophies.
But it was just so nice to see the conductors creating a space where the students individual needs were met within the group; and to know that this was continued on into the Communcian program was inspiring.

There are many aspects to the Communcian program that may not follow a more 'traditional' view of CE. However I am more and more confident with each passing day, each success and each development that we have managed to maintain enough of the CE principles and philosophies to have begun to develop an incredibly successful and productive program.
One I hope all involved will agree they can be truly proud of!






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Adapted Art Classes

We are lucky enough to have a resident artist at the school here. Alba Somoza is a working artist and teacher here in NYC. She also happens to have cerebral palsy, uses a power wheelchair and a communication device similar to the kind some of my students are using!
She has been coming to the school each month to teach adapted art projects to the students!
She spends some time training the para professionals to be effective art partners and she has the students direct the entire art process. It has taken some time for the adults facilitating to take that step back and simply follow the directions of the students. But with the help of our Communican communication books the students are taking the reins and loving it!
The result? Finally we are seeing the students true artist talents shining through!












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Social scripts

One of the key components of the Communican program is becoming confident with social communication, a very motivating experience for the students at the school here.
Finding ways to repeat social scripts without letting the activity become mundane is one of the many things that make this program so much fun for creative teachers.
This week class 2 has been working on a social script to help students link greetings to extending conversations, using their new friend, puppet 'Pauly D'.
We find that the students will respond far better to puppets and avatars than their teachers, and who can blame them? There's only so many times you want to hold a greeting conversation with your teacher!




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Location:W 69th St,New York,United States

The future

I spent the week of spring break in Cincinnati with my friend watching him use his ECO to communicate. He blew me away! After only 2 years of practicing and learning the device and his access methods he is so incredibly fast. In fact he was faster using his scanning method than I was accessing the device using direct select.
As well as being incredibly proud of how independent he has become over the last two years, (he is now able to access the Internet, FB, send emails and now also text from a cell phone), it also made me think about the prospects for the students at our school!
While being able to express your wants and needs is incredibly important and a great place to start the communication process, to be able to envision our students interacting with the world at large through the Internet as fully as any 'typically' developing individual is more exciting than I ever imagined!
Contacting friends on FB, arranging dates, chatting about the latest fashion or news events, texting each other and participating so fully in the on line world can ease the frustrations their physical bodies so often put upon them when trying to interact face to face. On line we are all equal!


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Location:NYC

Technology...

So we are gradually introducing more technology into our communication and academic environment here!
The intention is to eventually get all the students access to communication through high tech devices, as appropriate for each student!
Our Communican communication book is designed to be produced in a digital format as well as a hard copy form and as such can, in theory, be loaded onto any electronic device. That along with voice output grants each student their own literal 'voice'!
We have a range of voice output devices from voice output switches and laptops to high end devices from a range of companies!








As with all tech we have own ups and downs but all in all it's so exciting for both us and the students to see the communication and literally hear the students voices!

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Communican Program Part 2: Implementation

So it's been a year now of running our Communican program and I am so glad that I came to the decision to allow the students to sit in supported seating for their communication and academics. As a teacher it has been the most amazing experience for me, I have gone from teaching a severely restricted curriculum with closed form choices for answers and multiple choice responses; to enabling the students to answer open ended questions and formulate their own independent thoughts and ideas and then successfully express these to the class.
It has been a year filled with hard work, professional dilemmas and a steep learning curve and it has been one of the most productive academic and communicative years I have ever had the privilege to teach!
We now use our communication book throughout the entire morning session with class 1 and the entire afternoon session with class 2. We then integrate the book as and when we can through the CE portion of the day.

The communication book (actually 3 books in total) mimics the way that a high tech communication device works. The student scans through the book with the help of their communication partner.  When the student hears and sees the icon they want they activate a voice output device using a switch or if they are not in supported seating using a 'best yes' (this is a movement or sound of their choosing that represents 'yes').

The communication partner is basically simulating the computer/communication device and does not  (if at all possible) direct the students choices.

Many icons or choices lead the student to different pages in the book until they get to a phrase or statement they wish to make. 

As well as conversation the communication book allows the student to spell words using the entire alphabet, create numbers using a number line, as well as write sentences using sentence starters (I see, I want, I am going, etc), little words  (a, to the, with, and. etc) and core words (I, he, my, she, me they, you, we etc).

Using the core words the students are learning to read simple primer and pre-primer reading books.  They read the books silently and then navigate to the core word pages where they can select the words they have just read.

I am continually amazed by the students knowledge of the communication book. They are navigating the pages with increasing confidence and are finding multiple paths to the same choices.  The students have picked up the book far faster than the adults in the class!!

Now as we enter year two of our curriculum we are able to focus less on how the book is used and more on the academics and curriculum we wish the students to learn.  They are beginning to construct grammatically correct sentences, write short paragraphs, books and projects. As well as answer questions and make independent comments. 

I am almost learning to get to know my student all over again as the book allows them to express themselves in ways that have never been open to them before.  Their personalities are showing through in new and exciting ways as they are able to express their sense of humor, their individual views as well as their fears and concerns.

I am more excited than ever to see where this years curriculum will take us and as we introduce more high tech communication devices into the classroom, what new possibilities await these amazing students.